Seam finishing machine



SEAM FINISHING MACHINE Filed Jan.

2 Sheets-Sheet l 0 o w M w I a l] EIEi IQ- w 1 n N F. R. GLASS 1,920,253

SEAM FINISHING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30, 1951 2 Sheetsr-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 1, 1933 1,920,253 SEAM rrmsnmo MACHINE Perley It. Glass, Wayland, Mass, assignor t0 United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Patersen, N. J., a Corporation of New Jersey ApplicationiJanuary 30, 1931., Serial No. 512,401

37 Claims.

This invention relates to seam finishing machines and is herein illustratedas embodied in a machine designed to flatten a seam in a piece of work by pressing and rubbing it.

In themanufactu're of articles, parts of which are held assembled by stitching, such for exampleas the uppers of boots and shoes, it is often desirable to'finish the seams by'flattening them to prevent the occurrence of objectionable ridges in the finished work either on the inside or outside or both.

It has been found that seams in, uppersior boots and shoes can be effectually flattened by subjecting them to the pounding of an instrumentality provided with-relatively sharp teeth which, in operating upon the normally upstanding portions of the seam, upsets the structure of this material and renders it incapable of resuming its original shape and position after the seam has been thus treated. A seam pressing machine embodying a pounding instrumentality of the type referred to is disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,856,174, granted May 3, 1932, upon an application filed in the name of V. G. Terry. V

One object of the invention is to provide a seam finishing machine comprising an instrumentality having the seam flattening properties mentioned above and which will insure a well flattened and smoothly finished seam without producing any appreciable tendency to rupture the stitching.

To this end, in accordance with one feature of the invention, the illustrated machine is provided with a seam finishing tool the work-engaging face of which is provided with serrations arrangedto bite into the upstanding portions of a seam in order to upset the material therein, and a pluralityof flats for smoothing o1 setting successively the previously treated portions of the seam. Asherein shown, the serrations for treating the upstanding portions of the seam consist of a series of sharp teeth which flatten'the seam by breaking down the structure of the leather to some extent; and the flats are spaced from each other so asto provide a series of burnishing surfaces arranged. to set the seam after being treated by the sharp teeth. In the illustrated machine, the seam finishing tool, which is 0perated to impart a series of rapidly recurring impacts to the work, causes a feed movement of the work over a work support and as work is thus presented to the tool the upstanding portions of the seam therein are therefore successively upset by the sharp teeth and set or smoothed by the operation of the spaced flats.

In order to minimize the possibility of parts of a seam formed of two pieces of material of unequal thickness being presented to the tool at one side thereof, another object of the invention is to provide improved means for guiding the. seam in alinement with the tool and for positioning it centrally over the work support by better controlling the upstanding portion of the seam. To this end, the seam guiding means illustrated herein comprises a plurality of devices spaced longitudinally of the seam or the direction of feed and arranged to operate upon the upstanding portion of the seam only at locations which are spaced from each other lengthwise of the seam; As a result of this construction a variation in the thickness of aseam as it passes one of the guiding devices does not cause any change in the operation of the other or others and the proper direction of the seam is thus maintained by its constant control at spaced points. Moreover, as herein illustrated there are a pair of the abovementioned devices, each of which engages a short length of the seam, and thus in cooperation with the other, insures against the seam being twisted with respect to the direction of the feed movement.'

' While it is customary, in finishing seams the upstanding portions of which are relatively high, to turn the upstanding portions back against the body of the work in a well-known manner, if the upstanding portions of the seam have been trimmed close to the line of stitching, or if the material of which the seam is composed has been sewed together by a line of stitching close to the edges of the work, then it may be impracticable'to turn back the upstanding portions of the seam against the body of the work, since the short upstanding portions of the seam may resume their normal portionsin contact with each otherbefore the seam pressing instrumentality will have had time to operate upon them.

In view of the above, the illustrated work guiding devices are arranged to control the seam by contact with thesides of the upstanding portions thereof, and hold the upstanding portions of the seam together and against each other. To facilitate the operation of the guiding means in this respect, and in accordance with another feature of the invention, the guiding means are also arranged to hold the body of the work at each side of the upstanding portions of the seam against the support, the surface of which is flat Widthwise of the seam, whereby the upstanding portions of the seam are caused to protrude more prominently from the general plane or contour of the body of the work piece.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described in connection with the accompanying drawingsand pointed out in the appended claims. v

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a seam finishing machine in which the present invention is illustrated as embodied;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the operating instrumentalities oi the machine together withportions (broken away) of the machine frame;

Fig. 3 is a sectional front elevation taken along the line III--III in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2 as seen along the line IV-IV;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of a part of the seam positioning mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2; I I Fig. 6 is a'perspective view of the hammer used in the machine in which the present invention is embodied; and

' Fig. 7 is a view showing a work piece having a seam" a part of which has been ilattened.

The seam finishing machine illustrated in the above-mentionedfigures comprises a frame 10 having an upper arm 12 which supports plural work guiding means comprising a pair of seam positioning members 14, 16 and a pair of seam grippers 18, 20, together with a hammer 22 which isdriven in an orbital path by means of an eccentric mechanism encased in the head of the arm 12. away from the operating tools above mentioned is a freely rotatable work supporting roll 24 which is mounted in a post 26 slidably received in a' boss 28 extending upwardly from the lower arm 30 of the frame 10. A hand knob 32 extending from the front of the lower arm 30 may be turned adjustably to limit the extreme upward position of the work supporting roll 24. Except for the fact that in the illustrated machine the work supporting roll 24 rotates idly in its mounting, allof the above-mentioned features of construction including the means for adjusting the roll 24 heightwise and the driving mechanism for the hammer 22,, together with the electrical equipment comprising the switch unit 34, pilot light 36, electric motor 38 for furnishing the driving power, hammer heater 40 and a rheostat 42 for its control, are similar to the corresponding elements as illustrated in United States Letters Patout No. 1,736,272, granted November 19, 1929, in the name of W. C. Meyer, to which patent reference may be made for a more detailed description of these parts.

A work piece W (Fig. '7) having a seam to be flattened formed by a line of stitching S adjacent to the alined edges thereof is presented to the operating instrumentalities over the surface of the roll 24 which, in theillustrated machine, has a surface of revolutionthe elements of the outer extreme portion 44 of which are straight and parallel to the axis of revolution of the roll 24. The elements of which the'work piece is composed are ordinarily tensioned manually to some extentwidthwise of the scam in order to flatten the body of the work piece and to cause the free ends U of the elements adjacent to the line of stitching to protrude from the general plane .or contour ofthe work piece. The last mentioned portion of the seam will be herein- Mounted yieldingly to move toward and.

after referred to as the upstanding portion of the seam.

The positioning elements 14, 16 first insure the guiding of the seam centrally over the portion 44 of the work support 24 and to this end they are mounted for rotation in a carrier 46 and are interconnected by meshing segmental gears 48, 50 fixed to the positioning elements 14, 16, respectively. A movement of either positioning element will therefore cause an equal and opposite movement of the other whereby, irrespective of variations in the thickness of a seam passing between them, the seam will be guided centrally over the work support 24. The ends of the positioning elements 14, 16 are chamfered on the inside to provide faces 52, 54, respectively, arranged to contact with the sides of the upstanding portion of the seam (Fig. 5) and again at the bottoms to provide surfaces 56, 58 which are arranged to hold the body of the work adjacent to the seam against the portion 44 of the work supporting roll 24.

The ends of the positioning elements 14, 16 are yieldingly urged toward each other by a spring GOconnecting pins 62, 64 attached to the gears 48, 50, respectively, thereby to cause the faces 52,. 54 of the positioning elements yieldingly to hold the upstanding portions of the seam together. The extreme positions of relative approach of the ends of the positioning members may be varied by means of a screw 66 threaded into an extension on the gear 50 and arranged to abut a corresponding extension on the gear 48.

The positioning elements 14, 16 may be aujusted toward and away from the work support 24 by means of a thumb screw 68 mounted in an extension '70 of the upper arm 12 of the machine frame and which is threaded into the carrier 46 for thepositioning members. The carrier 46 is movable with respect to the arm 12 in a guideway formed by a spline '72 which fits within a complementary recess in the carrier 46. The carrier is yieldingly held in the guideway by means of a spring 74 the compression of which may be adjusted by means of a nut 76 on a stud 78 which is fixed in the arm 12.

The work as it passes between the positioning 'members 14, 16 is thus positioned so that the seam is over the center of theportion 44 of the work support on account of the above-mentioned operation of the positioning members which, on account of their shape and size, contact with a short length of the upstanding portion of the seam. The seam, as it leaves the positioning members 14, 16, is next operated upon at a point spaced from the point of operation of the positioning members where it is alined with the harm mer 22 by the seam grippers '18, 20. The ends of the grippers in proximity to the work are chamfered from the front toward the back on the inner sides in order to form surfaces 80, 82 adapting the grippers to .contact with a short length of the upstanding portion of the seam as it passes the rearward portion of the grippers. Their bottom faces 84, 86 are also shaped so as to conform to the surface of the work supporting roll 24 in proximity thereto. The grippers 18, 20 are pivotally mounted on pins 88, 90, respectively, fixed in a slide 92 mounted for movement toward and away from the work support 24 in a slideway 94 in the end of the arm 12; and a screw 93 threaded into the slide 92 holds the grippers in assembled relation in the slide. The slide 92 is yieldingly urged toward the work support 24 by a spring 96 which abuts at its upper end the bottom of a recess in the arm 12 and at its lowerend a lug 98 extending outwardly from the slide 92. The bottom faces 84, 86 of the. grippers 18, 20 are thereby urged downwardly to cause the body of the workat either side of the upstanding portion of the seam to beheld against the adjacent portion of the work support 24:. By thus pressing the body of the work against the fiat portion 44 of the work support the upstanding portion of the seam is caused more proininently to protrude from the general plane of the body of the work, thereby facilitating the gripping of the upstanding portions of the seam by the faces 80, 82 of the grippers. The extreme downward position of the grippers is controllable by means of a screw 99 which is arranged -for contact with the lower side of the lug 98 and is threaded into the arm 12. The grippers 18, 20 are also urged toward each other and toward a central position with respect to the work support 24 by means of springs 100, 102, respectively, which are substantially encased in alined recesses in the grippers and the slide 92. A seam in a piece of work being operated on by the positioning members 14, 16 and the grippers 18, 20 is therefore controlled at spaced points through short distances which are spaced from each other; and, the seam being controlled by two independent and spaced guiding instrumentalities, the separation of the elements of either owing to the passage of a bulging seam does not aifect the eiliciency of the other as a seam guid ing means.

The scam in the work piece, as it passes eyond the grippers 18, 20, is next treated by the hammer 22 the end of which adjacent to the grippers acts upon the seam very soon after it is acted upon by the grippers. The hammer, it approaches and operates on the work, has movement consisting of a component directed toward the work support 24.- which effects a pressing of the seam, and'also a component in the direction of the surface of the roll away from the above-described seam guiding instrumentalities in order to effect a feed movement of the work, the hammer being operated in an orbital path whereby the seam pressing and feeding operation is constituted by a series of rapidly recurring pressing and feeding impulses. The face of the harnmer 22 comprises a set of relatively sharp teeth 104 which are similar to the corresponding teeth in the hammer illustrated in the above-mentioned Terry patent. As more fully described in the Terry patent, the sharp teeth 10% upset to some extent the structure of the material in the upstanding portions of the seam, thereby rel ering it incapable of resuming its original state and position, and the scam in this condition then passes beneath a series of blunt, spaced teeth 106 which complete the seam flattening operation by smoothing or setting the seam previously treated by the sharp teeth 104. By the use of a combination of teeth such as employed in the illustrated machine not only an effective flattening of the seam is insured but also the danger of the stitching being broken is minimized, the ac tion of the blunt teeth 106 being relatively mild. As in the above-mentioned Meyer patent, the end of the heatingmeans 40 is bifurcated so as to form a space which the hammer 92 fills-except for the necessary clearance to allow the free movement of the hammer.

To summarize the use and mode of operation. of the illustrated machine, a work piece is ordinarily placed over the work supporting roll 2 1 tion of the seam.

with'the upstanding portion of the seam upward and in substantial alinement with the faces 52,

54 of the positioning members 14, 16. Thework, which is fed manually until the'work pressing and feeding hammer 22 begins to operate on the work, is positioned centrally with respect to the work supporting-roll 24 by. means of the positioning fingers l6 and 18, both of which at any time, on account of the gear connections between them, are equidistant from the center of the work supporting roll. It is therefore apparent that, in spite of variations in the thickness of the elements of the work piece, the upstanding portion of the seam as a whole which is controlled by the faces .52, 54 of the positioning elements is maintained a position which is central with respect to the portion fi l of the work support.

In order to avoid the tendency of a bulging seam to. twistwith respect to the support when controlled by positioning members only atthe bulging portion, in the illustrated machine two pairs of spaced positioning or alining members are provided each of which is arranged to operate over a short length of the upstanding por- In the operation of such a construction, the relative separation and approach of the elements of either of the alining means, caused by a bulging work piece passing betweenthem, does not afiect the operation of thev other and hence the proper positioning of the work is i sured. The second guiding or aliningmeans in the illustrated machine comprises the grippers 18, 20 which are constructed and arranged both to control the seam at a point spaced from the positioning members 1 1, 16 by contact with the sides of the upstanding portion ofthe seam, and also resiliently to urge the body of the work at each side of the seam against the portion 44 of the work support 24. The portion 44 of the work support being fiat in crosssection, the. work in proximity to the seam which is heldagainst this portion of the support, is flattened, thereby causing the upstanding portionof the seam more prominently to protrude from the general plane or surface of the work, as a comparison of Figsc3 and '7 indicate, whereby the gripping of the upstanding portion of the seam by the grippers 18, 20 is facilitated. The gripping elements 18, 20 are also yieldingly urged toward a central position further to insure the alinement of the seamwith the work support and the seam pressing hammer 22. The work, as it passes underneath the harmner 22, is fed over the work support by the action of the hammer 22 on account of a component of its motion in the direction of the adjacent surface of the work support away from the guiding instrumentalities, and the scam in the work is flattened as a result of a component of motion of the hammer in a direction toward the support 24. The seam is first treated by the series of sharp teeth 104 which begin to operate on the work immediately after it leaves the grippers 18, 20. These teeth, being sharp, upset to some extent the structure of the material of which the upstanding portion is composed, thereby rendering it incapable of resuming its original shape and position. The seam having thus been treated next passes underneath the blunt teeth 106 which burnish or set the seam previously treated by the sharp teeth 104. Thus, as a work piece is fed through the machine the blunt teeth 106 are caused to operate simultaneously with the sharp teeth but on a portion of the work which has been previously treated by the sharp teeth.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten of the United States is:

1. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a work support, and a seam pressing tool cooperating with said support to flatten the seam and a piece of work fed therebetween, the work engaging face of said tool comprising a plurality of serrations arranged to bite into the upstanding portion of the scam in order to upset it, and a plurality of flats for smoothing the seam.

2. In a seam pressing machine, in combination,-a work support, and a seam pressing tool adapted for flattening the upstanding portion of the seam in a piece of work presented between said tool and said support, the work engaging face of said tool comprising a series of sharp serrations for upsetting the upstanding portion of the seam and a series of spaced flats for smoothing or setting the seam.

V 3 In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a work support, a tool cooperating with said support to flatten the upstanding portion or" a seam in a piece of work fed therebetwee the work engaging face said tool comprising a series of sharp serrations and a series of spaced flats, and means for operating said tool to cause it to impinge upon the seam, whereby said serrations and said-flats operate in succession on the seem as the work is fed between the tool and the support. V

4. In a searn pressing machine, in combination, a work support, a tool cooperating with said support to flatten the seem in a piece of work fed therecetween, the work engaging face of said tool comprising a series of sharp teeth and a series of blunt'teeth, and means for operating said tool to cause it to impart rapidly recurring blows to the work. i

5. A. tool for use in a seam pressing machine, said tool having a work engagin portion com prising a plurality of serrations, anda plurality of flats.

6. A tool for use in a machine for pressing seams, the work engaging portion of said tool comprising a series of sharp serrations, and a series of spaced flats.

'F. A tool for use in a machine for pressing seams, said tool having a work portion comprising a series of sharp teeth, and a series of blunt teeth. I

' 8. In a seam pressing machine, a Work support, a tool adapted for flattening a scam in a piece of work'on said support, and means for operating said tool to flattn the scam and to feed the Work over the support, -e work engaging face of said tool having serrations arranged to bite into the work to insure its feed and for upsetting the upstanding portions of the and a plurality of flats for setting the seam.

95111 a seam pressing machine, a work support, a tool adapted for flattening a scam in a piece 05 work on said support, the work engaging face of said tool comprising sharpserrations and a series of spaced. flats, and means for causing said tool to impinge upon the work to flatten the and to feed the work over the support.

10. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a tool adapted for flattening a seam in piece of work on. said support, and means causing tool. to impinge upon the seam to flatten it and to the work over the support, the work engaging surface of said tool having a series 01 serrations and aseries of flats arranged to operate in succession on the work as it is fed over the support.

11. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a tool adapted for flattening a seam in a piece of work on said support and for feeding the work over the support, said tool having a series of teeth constructed and arranged to upset the upstanding portions of the seam and to impart feeding movement of the tool to the work and having contiguous with said series of teeth a series oi spaced flats arranged to set the seam after being treated by said teeth.

12. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a seam treating tool, and means for op erating said tool to press a piece of work against said support to feed it over the support, tool having a work engaging face comprising aseries of sharp teeth and a series of blunt teeth.

13. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a work support, seam treating tool having a face comprising a series of sharp teeth and a series of blunt teeth, and means for operating said tool to cause it to impart a series of rapidly recurring the work thereby to flatten the seam and to feed the work over the support.

14. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a in a piece of work on the support, and'rneans for guiding the seam comprising a plurality of guiding devices spaced longitudinally of the seam constructed and arranged to control the work by engagement with the upstanding portion of the seam only at locations which are spaced from each other lengthwise of the seam.

5. A seam pressing machine having, in (30111- ation, a work support, means for flattening a in a piece of work on tne support, and means guiding the work comprising a plurality of guiding elements mounted for relative movement widthwise of the seam and constructed and arranged to control the work by engagement with short lengths of the upstanding portion of the seam spaced from each other lengthwise of the seam. H

16. A seani pressing machine having, in conibination, a work support, means for flattening a scam in a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding a work piece with respect to the sup port and the seam flattening means comprising a plurality of guiding devices spaced longitudinally of the seam and constructed and arranged to control the work by contact with short sections of the sides of the upstanding portion of the seam only at locations which are spaced from each other lengthwise of the seam.

17. A seain machine having, in (30111- bination, a work support, means for flattening a scam in. a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding a work piece with respect to the sup port and thoflattening means comprising guiding devices constructed and arranged to hold together short lengths of the upstanding portion of the seam at locations spaced from each other lengthwise of the each of said devices having work engaging elements mounted for relative movement widthwise of the seam.

18. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a scam in a piece of work on the support, means for guiding the work with respect to said support 1 and flattening means comprising guiding devices constructed and arranged to control the work by engagement with the sides of the upstanding portion of the seam, and means for causing said guiding means to hold the body of the work adjacent to the stitching against the worksupport thereby to facilitate engagement of the-guiding means and the upstanding portion of the seam.

2.9. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, means for flattening a seam in a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding a work piece .with respect to the support and the flattening means comprising a pair of guiding devices, one of said devices comprising fingers arranged to position a scam in a work piece centrally'over said support, the other of said guiding devices comprising grippers yieldinglyurged toward a position of alinement with said work support, said fingers and said grippers being arranged to contact with the sides of the upstanding portion-of the seam in the work piece.

20. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a seam in a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding the seam centrally over the work support comprising cooperating gripping elements and cooperating positioning fingers spaced from said gripping elements, said gripping elements and said positioning fingers being constructed and arranged to control the work by engagement with the upstanding portions of the seam.

21. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a scam in a work piece on the support, and means for guiding the work centrally over the support comprising cooperating seam gripping elements and spaced therefrom, cooperating seam positioning fingers, said gripping elements and positioning fingers having work engaging faces which are short in a direction extending lengthwise of the seam.

22. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for clamping a seam in a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding the work piece with respect to said support and said flattening means by contact with the upstanding portion of the seam therein, said guiding means comprising gripping elements and, spaced therefrom, cooperating positioning fingers, said gripping elements and said positioning fingers being arranged to contact with the sides'oi the upstanding portion of the seam.

23. A seam pressing machine having, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a seam in a piece of work on the support, and. means for guiding the work so as to position the seam centrally with respect to the work support and said flattening means, said guiding means.

comprising cooperating gripping elements and, spaced therefrom, cooperating positioning fingers, said gripping elements and said fingers being constructed and arranged to engage the sides of the upstanding portion of the seamand to holdthe body of the work adjacent to the stitching against the work support thereby to facilitate engagement of the upstanding portion of the seam by the guiding means.

24. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a work support, means for flattening a seam in a piece of work on the support, and means for guiding the work piece with respect to said flattening means and said support comprising means arranged to grip the upstanding portions of a seam on opposite sides and to urge it toward a position which is central with respect to the work support and self-centering fingers arranged for contact with the sides of the upstanding portion or" the seam. for positioning it centrally over the work support.

25. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a seam pressing tool, means for operating said tool to press the work against the support and to feed it over the support, and plural means spaced in the direction of feed of the work and constructedand arranged to guide the seam by contact with the upstanding portion thereof at spaced points lengthwise thereof in order to position the seam centrally with respect to the work support and the tool.

26. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a seam pressingjtool, means for operating said tool to press the work against the support and to feed it over the support, and means for guiding,

the work so that the seam is presented centrally with respect to the work support and the tool comprising plural devices each of which is constructed and arranged to engage short lengths of both sides of the upstanding portions of the seam;

27. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a seam pressing tool, means for operating said tool to press the work against the support and to feed it over the support, and plural means for guiding the work by contact with the seam each of which means comprises cooperating elements constructed and arranged to grip short lengths of the upstanding portion of the seam.

28. In a seam pressing machine, a work sup port. a seam pressing tool, means for operating said tool to press the work against the support and for causing a feeding movement of the work, gripping elements adapted for engagement with the sides of the upstanding portion of the seam adjacent to the path of said tool, and cooperating fingers spaced from said gripping elements arranged for equal and opposite movements widthwise of the seam whereby the seam is positioned centrally over the work support.

29. In a seam pressing machine, a rotatable, work support, a tool for pressing a seam in a piece of work against the support and for feeding the work over the support, and means for guiding the seam centrally with respect to the support and tool as it is presented thereto comprising plural devices each engaging both sides of the upstanding portion of the seam, one of said devices being constructed and arranged to engage the body of the work at each side of the seam and to hold it against said support to facilitate engagement of the guiding means with the upstanding portion of the seam.

30. In a'seam pressing machine, a rotatable work support. a tool for pressing a scam in a piece of work against the support, means for guiding the seam as it is presented to the tool, said guiding means being arranged to hold the upstanding portions of the seam together and to engage the bodyof the work at both sides of the seam, and means for yieldingly urging said guiding means toward the work support to facilitate the engagement of the guiding means with the upstanding portions of the seam.

31. In a seam pressing machine, a work support, a tool for pressing a piece of work against the support and for feeding it over the support, and gripping elements for guiding the seam as it is presented to thetool contacting with the upstanding portion of the seam, said gripping elements being constructed and arranged to engage and yieldingly to urge the body of the work at each side of the seam against the work engaging surface of said support to facilitate the engagement of said gripping elements withthe upstanding portion of the seam.

32. In a seam pressing niaeh'ne, a rotatable work support a tool for pressing arseam in a piece of work against the support and for feeding the workover the support, means for guiding the seam as the work is presented to said tool arranged to grip the opposite outer sides of the up-- standing portion of the seam, and means for yieidingly urging said guiding ineans toward said work support to cause the body of the Work at either side of the upstanding portion of the seam to be held in contact with the work engaging surface of said support,

233. In a pressing machine, rotatable work support, a tool for'pressing a seam in a support, and meansior yield of o gripping means work 13 urging carrier toward said'work support to cause the the work gripping means tovpress the body of against the work surf so or" port.

34. In a seam pressing mac 7 work support, means for pressing seaina piece of work against the support an for feeding the work over the support, p i guiding the work so that the presented centrally with respect to the tool, each comprising yieldingly operated elements arranged contact with opposite sides of the upstai 1g per tions of the seam, and means for causing the said elements to hold the work. against the work support thereby to facilitate the engagement the alining means with the upstanding portions of the seam. 7

35. In a seam pressing ma no, a rotatable Work support, means for pres a seam in piece of work against the support and for ing the work over the support, means guiding )ping the work as it passes to said pressing and feeding means comprising members arranged yieldingly to hold together the upstanding portion of the seam for insu; ng the alincinent'of the seam with the tool and cooperating fingers for positioning the seam centrally over the work support, and means for yieldingly urging said seam alining me'zr toward said work. support to facilitate the engagement with the upstanding portion or the seam.

36. In seam pressing machine, a'rotatable work support, means for pressing a seam in a piece of work against the support and for causing a feeding movement of the work, plural means spaced in the direction of feed for guidthe seam centrailywith respect to the tool as the work is presented thereto, each of said guiding means being constructed and arranged for engagement with short lengths of both the upstanding portion of the seam and the body of the work at each side of the seam, carriers for said guiding means arranged for *novement toward an from support, and means for urging one of said carriers toward the support to the guiding means thereon to press the body of the work against the Work engaging surface of the support.

37.111 a seam pressing machine, a rotatable work support, a tool for pressing a seam in a piece of work against the support and for causing a feeding movement of the work, means for guiding the work as it passes to said pressing and feeding means comprising members arranged yieldingly to grip the upstanding portions of the seam at opposite sides thereof for insuring alinement of the seam and tool, cooperating fingers god for positioning the seam centrally over "=1 support by engagement with the up- L; portion of the seam, a carrier for said gripping members mounted to slide toward and 1 rom said work support, and means for yieldingly urging said carrier toward said support to cause said gripping members to urge the body of the work adjacent to the upstanding portion of the seam into contact with the work engaging surface of said suppor.

PERLEY R. GLASS. 

